Natural Revolution Empowering Natural Living
In what appears to be yet another manipulative move to sway the vote in the upcoming GMO labelling initiative in Washington state, PBS and its affiliates are set to air a film tonight at 10 pm PST, which shows a rather biased stance toward the biotech industry, GMOs, and the chemicals used to grow them.
The airing of the documentary film, Next Meal: Engineering Food is indeed not an impartial look at both sides of the GMO controversy. The undertones are very much Pro-GMO; not showing both sides equally, but in favor of GMOs “and the chemicals used to grown them being safe”. And, that “…the World Health Organization has said that these foods are safe.”
While there are some parts of the film that may show the other side of the GMO coin, where people are up in arms about the biotech industry trying to control the world’s food supply, there definitely is a leaning toward favoring the biotech company in the message of the film. But more so, the timing of this film being so close to the vote in Washington, wreaks of manipulation of the masses from the bully from Saint Louis, Monsanto.
KCTS 9 who is airing the film is a member of QUEST and they’re promoting the film as a Northern California documentary exploring how genetically engineered crops are made, their pros and cons and what the future might hold for research and regulations such as labeling. Are the benefits worth the risks?
If you watched the documentary, most would reason that by KCTS 9 supporting and airing a biased film such as this so close to Election Day, PBS and its affiliates such as KCTS 9, are doing a disservice to their viewers and paints the biotech industry as something much other than it actually is.
We contacted an affiliate of PBS in response to their showing this film and their response back to us was this:
Thank you for contacting KCTS 9. We appreciate your concerns about the upcoming QUEST program “Next Meal: Engineering Food.”
QUEST, a collaboration of six public broadcasters around the country, is a multimedia series that strives to deepen our understanding of some of today’s most pressing sustainability topics through articles, videos, radio reports, television broadcasts, and educational materials.
The program “Next Meal: Engineering Food” was produced by QUEST Northern California. This half-hour special explores genetically engineered crops, and interviews people with a variety of experiences with, and opinions about, genetically engineered crops. KCTS 9 is a member of QUEST, and is airing this program as part of that partnership. Our goal is to provide relevant, informative content for our viewers and allow viewers to make their own decisions based on the information presented.
Again, thank you for your email. It’s important to hear your feedback, especially regarding a new program.
By all means, please contact them and share your feelings about this films at VServices@kcts9.org
This film does nothing to show the systemic overuse of herbicides and pesticides now needed to grow GMO crops. The film also doesn’t shed any light on the recent research which has concluded by many peer-reviewed scientific journals that GMOs have been found to cause tumors, immunological disruptions, reproductive degradation and cancer in rats.
If these kinds of health issue are arising in rats when they are fed GMOs, what do you think GMOs are doing to us?
They may have more than a fleeting interest in their reasoning to air this show, which in Monsanto’s bag of tricks, “donations” play a favorable part in seeing that certain favors are given in return for such donations to foundations like PBS, and the World Health Organization, among others.
This film spreading claims that only favor GMOs and biotech industry, shows the lack of responsibility, especially in light if the amount of evidence which clearly shows concern among the scientific community regarding the safety of GMOs and the chemicals used to grow them.
Let’s hope that next time PBS and their affiliates can find a much more non-bias and proactive approach to putting out balanced and truthful information regarding such a controversial issue, especially on the heels of a vote coming up about labeling GMOs in Washington state, exactly where this film is being shown.
Talk about trying to sway the vote against GMO labelling. Perhaps in an equally fair balance, KCTS 9 might want to consider showing the film Genetic Roulette which shows the real science and health effects of consuming GMO foods.
This film Next Meal: Engineering Food is little more than a commercial for the biotech industry. It’s a shame that public broadcasting has been co-opted by big corporations.
SCHEDULE CHANGE – QUEST: Next Meal: Engineering Food
Wednesday, 10/30, at 7:30 p.m.
KCTS 9 | 401 Mercer St | Seattle, WA 98109 | enews@KCTS9.org | 1.800.937.5287
If you’d like to share your thoughts in the comments below about how PBS and their affiliates are using this film to promote a Pro-GMO agenda, or would like to let them know how you feel, you can contact them at VServices@kcts9.org or enews@KCTS9.org.
